August 1
Events *33 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic. * 527 - Justinian I becomes the only ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * 607 - Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607). *902 - Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army. *1203 - Isaac II Angelus, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexius IV Angelus co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Ciaran Fourth Crusade. *1291 - The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter. *1461 - Edward IV is crowned king of England. *1492 - Ferdinand and Isabella drive the Jews out of Spain. *1498 - Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit Venezuela. *1619 - First African slaves arrive in Jamestown. *1664 - The Ottoman Empire is defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár. *1774 - The element oxygen is discovered for the third (and last) time. *1798 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) - Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action. *1800 - The Act of Union 1800 is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. *1820 - London's Regent's Canal opens. *1831 - A new London Bridge opens. *1832 - The Black Hawk War ends. *1834 - Slavery is abolished in the British Empire. *1838 - Slaves in Trinidad and Tobago are emancipated. *1876 - Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state. *1894 - The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea. *1902 - The United States buys the rights to the Panama Canal from France. *1907 - First Scout camp opens on Brownsea Island. *1914 - Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilises because of World War I *1927 - The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. *1936 - Olympic Games: Summer Olympic Games - The Games of the XI Olympiad open in Berlin. *1937 - Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor. *1941 - The first Jeep is produced. *1944 - Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary. * 1944 - Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland. *1945 - Mel Ott becomes the third member of the 500 home run club. *1946 - The Japanese Federation of Trade Unions is formed. *1948 - The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded. *1957 - The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). *1960 - Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France. * 1960 - Communist Party of Independence and Work is banned in Senegal. * 1960 - Islamabad declared as the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan. *1964 - The Belgian Congo is renamed the Republic of the Congo. *1965 - Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands announces her engagement to Claus von Amsberg. *1966 - Charles Whitman kills 15 people at The University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police. * 1966 - Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official People's Republic of China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. *1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem. *1968 - The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei. *1970 - Powder Ridge Rock Festival. *1971 - Concert for Bangladesh. *1975 - CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe. *1977 - Frank H.T. Rhodes is elected President of Cornell University, a post he would hold for 18 years. *1977 - Former Lockheed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers crashes the news helicopter he was flying in Los Angeles *1980 - Buttevant Rail Disaster kills 18 and injures dozens of train passengers in Ireland. *1981 - MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles. *1988 - Rush Limbaugh was syndicated nationally in the United States as a two hour radio show. *1994 - Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirm rumors that they had married eleven weeks earlier. *2001 - An agreement is reached on the position of the minority Albanian language in the Republic of Macedonia. * 2001 - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency. * 2001 - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office. *2004 - A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 in Asunción, Paraguay. *2005 - German spelling reform of 1996 is formally implemented. *2007 - The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapsed during the evening rush hour. Births *10 BC - Claudius, Roman Emperor (d. 54) * 126 - Pertinax, Roman Emperor (d. 193) *1313 - Emperor Kogon of Japan (d. 1364) *1377 - Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan (d. 1433) *1545 - Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and religious reformer (d. 1622) *1555 - Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597) *1579 - Luís Vélez de Guevara, Spanish writer (d. 1644) *1630 - Thomas Clifford, English statesman (d. 1673) *1713 - Charles I (d. 1780) *1714 - Richard Wilson, Welsh painter (d. 1782) *1738 - Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794) *1744 - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French scientist (d. 1829) *1770 - William Clark, American explorer (d. 1838) *1779 - Francis Scott Key, American lawyer and lyricist (d. 1843) * 1779 - Lorenz Oken, German naturalist (d. 1851) *1815 - Richard Henry Dana, American lawyer, politician, and author (d. 1882) *1818 - Maria Mitchell, American astronomer (d. 1889) *1819 - Herman Melville, American writer (d. 1891) *1837 - Mother Jones, American labor organizer (d. 1930) *1843 - Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln; United States Secretary of War (d. 1926) *1858 - Hans Rott, Austrian composer (d. 1884) *1858 - Gaston Doumergue, French President (d. 1937) *1871 - John Lester, American cricketer (d. 1969) *1885 - George de Hevesy, Hungarian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1966) *1881 - Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician (d. 1940) *1889 - Walter Gerlach, German physicist (d. 1979) *1891 - Karl Kobelt, Swiss politician (d. 1968) *1893 - King Alexander I of Greece (d. 1920) *1894 - Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927) *1910 - James Henry Govier, British artist (d. 1974) * 1910 - Walter Scharf, American composer (d. 2003) *1912 - Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999) *1914 - J. Lee Thompson, British film director (d. 2002) *1916 - Anne Hébert, French Canadian author and poet (d. 2000) *1921 - Jack Kramer, American tennis player *1922 - Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990) *1924 - Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-born physicist, Nobel laureate * 1924 - Marcia Mae Jones, American actress (d. 2007) *1925 - Ernst Jandl, Austrian writer (d. 2000) * 1926 - Theo Adam, German bass-baritone *1927 - Raymond Leppard, English conductor *1930 - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (d. 2002) * 1930 - Lionel Bart, English song-writer (d. 1999) * 1930 - Julie Bovasso, American actor and writer (d. 1991) *1932 - Meir Kahane, American founder of the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990) * 1932 - Meena Kumari, Indian film actress (d. 1972) *1933 - Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian * 1933 - Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player * 1933 - Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian (d. 2007) *1936 - Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer *1937 - Al D'Amato, United States Senator from New York *1941 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004) *1942 - Jerry Garcia, American musician (The Grateful Dead) (d. 1995) * 1942 - André Gagnon, French Canadian pianist and composer * 1942 - Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor *1945 - Douglas D. Osheroff, American physicist, Nobel laureate * 1945 - Sandi Griffiths, American singer, The Lawrence Welk Show *1946 - Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist * 1946 - Boz Burrell, British bass guitarist (King Crimson, Bad Company) (d. 2006) *1949 - Kurmanbek Bakiyev, President of Kyrgyzstan *1950 - Jim Carroll, American poet and actor *1951 - Tommy Bolin, American guitarist (Deep Purple) (d. 1976) * 1951 - Pete Mackanin, American baseball player *1952 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003) *1953 - Robert Cray, American singer * 1953 - Charles Gilpin, American Scientist (d. 1998) * 1953 - Howard Kurtz, American journalist *1955 - Trevor Berbick, Jamaican boxer *1956 - Tom Leykis, American radio personality *1958 - Adrian Dunbar, Northern Irish actor * 1958 - Rob Buck, American musician (10,000 Maniacs) (d. 2000) * 1958 - Tor Håkon Holte, Norwegian cross country skier * 1958 - Michael Penn, American singer and songwriter *1959 - Joe Elliott, English musician (Def Leppard) * 1959 - Otomo Yoshihide, Japanese musician *1960 - Chuck D, American rapper (Public Enemy) * 1960 - Richard Roeper, American columnist and film critic *1962 - Robert Clift, British field hockey player * 1962 - Jacob Matlala, South African boxer *1963 - Coolio, American rapper * 1963 - Demián Bichir, Mexican actor * 1963 - John Carroll Lynch, American actor * 1963 - Dean Wareham, New Zealand musician (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean and Britta) *1964 - Adam Duritz, American musician (Counting Crows) *1965 - Sam Mendes, British stage and film director *1967 - Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player *1968 - Dan Donegan, American musician (Disturbed) *1969 - Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player * 1969 - David Wain, American actor *1970 - David James, English footballer *1972 - Devon Hughes, American professional wrestler * 1972 - Nicke Royale, Swedish musician (The Hellacopters) * 1972 - Tanya Reid, Canadian actress *1973 - Tempestt Bledsoe, American actress * 1973 - Eduardo Noriega, Spanish actor *1974 - Beckie Scott, Canadian cross-country skiing athlete *1976 - Kevin Joseph, American baseball player * 1976 - Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer *1977 - Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player * 1977 - Damien Saez, French musician, songwriter, and author *1978 - Dhani Harrison, English musician * 1978 - Edgerrin James, American football player *1979 - Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer * 1979 - Jason Momoa, American actor *1980 - Mancini, Brazilian footballer *1981 - Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer *1984 - Valery Ortiz, Puerto Rican actress * 1984 - Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer *1986 - Andrew Taylor, English footballer *1986 - Anton Stralman, Swedish ice hockey player *1998 - Khamani Griffin, American actor Deaths * 371 - St Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop (b. c. 283) * 527 - Emperor Justin I (b. c. 450) *1137 - King Louis VI of France (b. 1081) *1227 - Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179) *1402 - Edmund of Langley, son of Edward III of England (b. 1341) *1457 - Lorenzo Valla, Italian humanist (bc. 1406) *1464 - Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1386) *1541 - Simon Grynaeus, German theologian (b. 1493) *1546 - Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506) *1557 - Olaus Magnus, Swedish writer (b. 1490) *1580 - Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat (b. 1524) *1589 - Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567) *1675 - Weetamoo, sachem of Pocasetts, a band of the Wampanoag Indians her death winding up the end of King Philip's War *1714 - Queen Anne of Great Britain (b. 1665) *1787 - Alphonsus Liguori, Italian founder of the Redemptionist order (b. 1696) *1796 - Robert Pigot, British army officer (b. 1720) *1798 - François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers, French admiral (killed in battle) (b. 1753) *1812 - Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (killed in battle) (b. 1763) *1851 - William Joseph Behr, German writer (b. 1775) *1866 - John Ross (aka. Kooweskoowe), Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (b. 1790) *1903 - Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman (b. 1853) *1917 - Frank Little, American labor organizer (lynched) (b. 1879) *1918 - John Riley Banister, American cowboy and Texas Ranger (b. 1854) *1920 - Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian nationalist leader (b. 1856) *1929 - Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870) *1964 - Johnny Burnette, American singer (b. 1934) *1966 - Charles Whitman, American mass murderer (shot by police) (b. 1941) *1967 - Richard Kuhn, Austrian chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900) *1970 - Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913) * 1970 - Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1883) *1973 - Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (b. 1882) * 1973 - Walter Ulbricht, German communist statesman (b. 1893) *1974 - Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1898) *1977 - Gary Powers, American spy plane pilot (b. 1929) *1980 - Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944) * 1980 - Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919) *1981 - Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (b. 1923) *1989 - John Ogdon, English pianist (b. 1937) *1990 - Norbert Elias, German sociologist (b. 1897) * 1990 - Graham Young, British serial killer (b. 1947) *1996 - Frida Boccara, French singer (b. 1940) * 1996 - Tadeus Reichstein, Polish chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1897) * 1996 - Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and international aid worker (b. 1929) *1997 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (b. 1915) *1998 - Eva Bartok, Hungarian-born actress (b. 1927) *1999 - Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian-born writer (b. 1897) *2001 - Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974) *2003 - Guy Thys, Belgian football coach (b. 1922) * 2003 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (b. 1962) *2004 - Philip Abelson American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1913) *2005 - Al Aronowitz, American music journalist (b. 1928) * 2005 - King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923) * 2005 - Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (b. 1920) * 2005 - Wibo, Dutch cartoonist (b. 1918) *2006 - Jason Rhoades, American installation artist (b. 1965) * 2006 - Bob Thaves, American cartoonist (b. 1924) * 2006 - Iris Marion Young, American feminist and political scientist (b. 1949) *2007 - Tommy Makem, Irish folk singer (b. 1932) Holidays and observances *Angola - Armed Forces Day. *Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago - Emancipation Day. *Benin - National Day. *People's Republic of China - Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army. *Democratic Republic of Congo - Parent's Day *Nicaragua - Fiesta Day. *Rastafari movement - Celebration of the liberation of Haile Selassie from slavery. *Switzerland - National Day. *Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Kamál (Perfection) - First day of the eighth month of the Bahá'í Calendar. *Lughnasadh - Lá Lúnasa, the traditional first day of Autumn in Ireland. *Lammas - Neopagan festival of Lammas. *Lebanon - Army's Day (Eid al-Jaysh). *Yorkshire, England - Yorkshire Day. *World Scout Day - anniversary of the first day of the Brownsea Island Camp in 1907, where Robert Baden-Powell began scouting. *United States - Colorado statehood day Orthodox Christianity * Abgar V of Edessa * Procession of the Cross. Roman Catholicism *Saint Alphonso Maria de' Liguori, bishop, Doctor of the Church (died 1787) *Saint Æthelwold of Winchester, bishop of Winchester, confessor *Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, martyr Geneva, Lausanne, France; Paris *Saint Exuperius, bishop of Bayeux northern France; Paris *Saint Felix, martyr at Gerona southern France *Saint Peter Julian Eymard (Pierre-Julien Eymard, died 1868) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:August